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United States Patent |
6,183,291
|
Watanabe
,   et al.
|
February 6, 2001
|
Electrical connector assembly
Abstract
The present invention provides an electrical connector assembly in which a
slider member can be securely supported with respect to a housing, so that
variation in the position of a flexible printed circuit when the slider
member and the flexible printed circuit are inserted into a mating
connector can be minimized. The electrical connector assembly (1) is
equipped with a housing (18, 19) which has plural rows of electrical
terminals (15) that protrude from a wall of the housing, a flexible
printed circuit (20), both ends of which are connected to the terminals
(15) of the housing, and which has a plurality of conductive paths formed
on a surface thereof, a slider member (30), which is inserted between the
ends of the flexible printed circuit (20), and which is inserted between
rows of contacts (83a, 83b) of a mating connector (80) together with the
flexible printed circuit (20) so that the conductive paths are caused to
electrically engage the rows of contacts, and supporting members (40),
which are attached to the housing, and which regulate the movement of the
slider member (30) in directions other than the direction (A) of insertion
into the mating connector.
Inventors:
|
Watanabe; Satoru (Tokyo, JP);
Muramatsu; Hidenori (Kanagawa, JP)
|
Assignee:
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The Whitaker Corporation (Wilmington, DE)
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Appl. No.:
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424371 |
Filed:
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November 23, 1999 |
PCT Filed:
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May 19, 1998
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PCT NO:
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PCT/US98/10196
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371 Date:
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November 23, 1999
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102(e) Date:
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November 23, 1999
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PCT PUB.NO.:
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WO98/53532 |
PCT PUB. Date:
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November 26, 1998 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S. Class: |
439/495 |
Intern'l Class: |
H01R 012/24 |
Field of Search: |
439/495,496,492,493,494,497,498,499,159,160
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3149897 | Sep., 1964 | Martineck | 439/495.
|
3897130 | Jul., 1975 | Donnelly et al. | 439/495.
|
5354214 | Oct., 1994 | Aso et al. | 439/492.
|
5474468 | Dec., 1995 | Chishima et al. | 439/495.
|
5562487 | Oct., 1996 | Ii et al. | 439/495.
|
5639260 | Jun., 1997 | McHugh | 439/495.
|
5688143 | Nov., 1997 | McHugh et al. | 439/495.
|
5690510 | Nov., 1997 | Chishima | 439/496.
|
5967831 | Oct., 1999 | Yamada et al. | 439/496.
|
Primary Examiner: Paumen; Gary F.
Assistant Examiner: Gushi; Ross
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrical connector assembly for matable engagement with electrical
contacts of a matable electrical connector, the assembly comprising an
electrical connector (10) including a housing (18, 19) having electrical
terminals (15) extending outwardly from a wall thereof, a flexible printed
circuit (20) having conductive paths on a surface thereof and both ends
electrically and physically connected to the respective electrical
terminals (15), and a slider member (30) inserted between the ends of the
flexible printed circuit, characterized in that:
supporting members (40) having rectangular openings (43) are mounted onto
the housing (18, 19) of the is electrical connector (10), and supporting
sections (34) of the slider member (30) having release-preventing members
(34b) are mounted in the rectangular openings (43) such that projecting
members (34a) are received within the rectangular openings (43) and the
release-preventing members (34b) extend beyond and out of alignment with
the rectangular openings (43), the flexible printed circuit and the slider
member thereby being insertable into the matable electrical connector with
the conductive paths on the flexible printed circuit electrically engaging
the electrical contacts of the matable electrical connector.
2. An electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
supporting sections (34) are L-shaped with the projecting members (34a)
extending outwardly from both ends of a flat plate section (31) and the
release-preventing members (34b) extending along outside surfaces of the
supporting portions (42).
3. An electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
housing (18, 19) comprises an upper housing (18) and a lower housing (19).
4. An electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said
supporting members (40) include upper clamping members (44) engaging the
upper housing (18) and lower clamping members (45) engaging the lower
housing (19).
5. An electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
slider member (30) includes engaging members (35a, 35b) for engaging the
housing (18, 19).
6. An electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein
auxiliary engaging members (36a, 36b) are provided on the slider members
adjacent the engaging members (35a, 35b).
7. An electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein
additional engaging members (33) are provided on the slider member (30)
for engagement by projections (21) of the flexible printed circuit (20).
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly which is
used to make connections with PC cards which accommodate memory cards or
hard disk drives.
BACKGROUND
The electrical connector assembly shown in FIG. 8 is a conventional
electrical connector assembly disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No.
8-264240. Electrical connector assembly 100 is equipped with a housing 107
comprising an upper housing 101 and lower housing 102, the upper and lower
housings 101, 102 are fastened together by metal plates 105, 106, plural
rows of electrical terminals 103, 104 protrude from respective wall
surfaces 101a, 102a of the upper housing 101 and lower housing 102, a
flexible printed circuit 110, the ends of which are electrically connected
to the respective terminals 103, 104, and which has numerous conductive
paths 111 on a surface thereof, and a slider member 120 which is inserted
between the ends of the flexible printed circuit 110 that is bent into a
U-shape and connected to the terminals 103, 104.
Meanwhile, a mating connector 130, which is engaged with the electrical
connector assembly 100, comprises a housing 131 having a recess 132 that
accommodates the flexible printed circuit 110 of the electrical connector
assembly 100 together with the slider member 120, and a plurality of
electrical contacts 133, which are disposed inside the recess 132 of the
housing 131, and which electrically engage the conductive paths 111 of the
flexible printed circuit 110.
The slider 120 is equipped with an insertion member 121, which is inserted
between the ends of the flexible printed circuit 110, and operating
members 122, which are formed substantially perpendicular to the insertion
member 121 and which have substantially flat planes. In order to cause the
conductive paths 111 of the flexible printed circuit 110 to engage the
contacts 133, housing 107 is held and the flexible printed circuit 110 is
inserted into the recess 132, after which the operating members 122 of the
slider member 120 are moved downward so that electrical engagement is
achieved between conductive paths 111 and electrical contacts 133.
However, in electrical connector assembly 100, the slider member 120 is
merely passed through the flexible printed circuit 110, both ends of which
are attached to the wall surfaces 101a, 102a of the housing 107, and it is
not supported with respect to the housing 107 by members other than the
flexible printed circuit 110. As a result, the slider member 120 can also
move in directions other than the direction of insertion into the mating
connector 130, and it is therefore unstable. Consequently, the following
problem arises: i. e., when the flexible printed circuit 110 is inserted
into the recess 1332 of the mating connector 130, the flexible printed
circuit 110 is unstable, and therefore varies in position within mating
connector 130 thereby affecting the electrical connections between
conductive paths 111 and electrical contacts 133.
SUMMARY
European Patent Application EP-A-0720254 shows another flexible printed
circuit connector which utilizes a spacer plate. This connector is
configured to provide flexible circuit connectors from one printed circuit
board to a second printed circuit board. Another design is shown in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,205,750. In this connector, a flexible printed circuit is
secured to a circuit board and strengthened by a plate which is mounted
between two brackets.
These designs, however, all have limitations which make their
configurations undesirable for certain applications. Accordingly, the
present invention provides an electrical connector assembly in which a
slide member can be securely supported with respect to a housing, so that
variation in the position of a flexible printed circuit when the slider
member and the flexible printed circuit are inserted into a mating
connector can be obviated.
The electrical connector assembly of the present invention comprises a
housing which has plural rows of electrical terminals protruding from a
wall, a flexible printed circuit both ends of which are connected to the
electrical terminals of the housing and which has a plurality of
conductive paths forced on a surface thereof, a slider member which is
inserted between the ends of the flexible printed circuit, and is inserted
together with the flexible printed circuit between rows of electrical
contacts of a mating connector so that the conductive paths are caused to
engage the electrical contacts, and supporting members are attached to the
housing, which regulate the movement of the slider member in directions
other than the direction of insertion into the mating connector.
Furthermore, it is desirable that rectangular openings, which extend in the
direction of insertion into the mating connector, be provided in the
supporting members, and that substantially L-shaped supporting sections,
which are inserted into the rectangular openings, be located on the slider
member.
Moreover, a much greater effect is obtained if each of the supporting
members has an upper clamping member formed by being bent from an upper
end of a base portion and a pair of lower clamping members formed by being
bent from both sides of a lower end of the base portion, so that the
clamping members clamp the housing from above and below, the lower
clamping members are placed on a surface of an auxiliary circuit board,
and the upper clamping member has a threaded section into which an
attachment screw, which passes through the auxiliary circuit board, along
the pair of lower clamping members and the housing, is received.
An electrical connector assembly for matable engagement with electrical
contacts of a matable electrical connector comprises an electrical
connector including a housing having electrical terminals extending
outwardly from a wall thereof, a flexible printed circuit having
conductive paths on a surface thereof and both ends electrically connected
to respective electrical terminals, and a slide member is inserted between
the flexible printed circuit, wherein supporting members are mounted onto
the housing of the electrical connector, and supporting sections on the
slider member are mounted to the supporting members so that the flexible
printed circuit and the slider member can be inserted into the matable
electrical connector with the conductive paths on the flexible printed
circuit electrically engaging the electrical contacts of the matable
electrical connector.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of
example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electrical connector assembly of the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is a right-side view of the electrical connector assembly shown in
FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a left-side view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4A is a front view of a slider member.
FIG. 4B is a bottom view of the slider member.
FIG. 4C is a left-side view of the slider member.
FIG. 5A is a front view of a supporting member.
FIG. 5B is a plan view of the supporting member.
FIG. 5C is a right-side view of the supporting member.
FIG. 6 is a right-side view which shows the electrical connector assembly
shown in FIG. 1 fastened to a surface of an auxiliary circuit board.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a mating connector fastened to a
surface of a main circuit board.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional electrical connector
assembly prior to engagement with a mating connector.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIGS. 1-3, electrical connector assembly 1 is equipped with a housing
10, which includes an upper housing 18 and a lower housing 19, plural rows
of electrical terminals 15 protrude from respective rear walls 11 of the
upper and lower housings 18, 19, a flexible printed circuit 20 both ends
of which are connected to the terminals 15 of the housing 10, and which
has a plurality of conductive paths (not shown) formed on a surface
thereof, a slider member 30, is inserted between the ends of the flexible
printed circuit 20 that are connected to the terminals 15 and is inserted
between the rows of electrical contacts 83a, 83b of mating connector 80
(see FIG. 7) together with the flexible printed circuit 20 so that the
conductive paths are caused to electrically engage the rows of contacts
83a, 83b, and a pair of supporting members 40 clamp onto the upper housing
18 and lower housing 19 from above and below, and which regulate the
movement of the slider member 30 in directions other than the direction A
of insertion into the mating connector 80.
An upper frame 13 and a lower frame 14 are formed by stamping and forming
thin metal plates and are attached to the upper surface and bottom surface
of the housing 10, and respective PC cards (not shown) are insertable into
the upper frame 13 and lower frame 14. These PC cards are inserted from
the rear ends of the upper frame 13 and lower frame 14 (i. e., the upper
end of FIG. 1), and are electrically connected to the terminals 15
disposed in the upper housing 18 and lower housing 19. A card-ejection
mechanism 50, which is used to eject PC cards that have been inserted into
the upper frame 13 and lower frame 14 and connected to the terminals 15,
is mounted on one side surface of the upper frame 13 and lower frame 14.
As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4C, the slider member 30 is formed by stamping
and forming a metal plate. Slider member 30 has flat plate section 31
along which the flexible printed circuit 20 extends, and substantially
L-shaped supporting sections 34 having projecting members 34a that extend
outward from both ends of the flat plate section 31 and release-preventing
members 34b that extend forward (downward in FIG. 1) from the projecting
members 34a. Furthermore, a pair of stop members 32, which extend forward,
protrude from a front side of the flat plate section 31 at both ends
thereof. The stop members 32 engage a bottom surface of a flexible printed
circuit accommodating opening 82 in housing 81 of mating connector 80 when
the slider member 30 is inserted between the rows of contacts 83a, 83b of
the mating connector 80, and thus function as stop members for the slider
member 30. Meanwhile, a pair of engaging members 35a, 35b, which engage
the wall 11 (see FIG. 2) of the housing 10 at the time of insertion of the
flexible printed circuit between the rows of contacts of the mating
connector 80, are formed by being bent vertically in opposite directions
at both ends of a rear side of the flat plate section 31. Since the
engaging members 35a, 35b are formed by being bent vertically in opposite
directions, there is no rotation of the slider member 30 when the
respective engaging members 35a, 35b engage housing 10.
Furthermore, auxiliary engaging members 36a, 36b,which provide assistance
when the respective engaging members 35a, 35b engage housing 10, are
formed by being bent vertically in opposite directions at points located
to the inside of the respective engaging members 35a, 35b. Additional
engaging members 33, which engage projections 21 (see FIG. 1) of the
flexible printed circuit 20 when the slider member 30 is pulled out from
between the rows of contacts of the mating connector 80, are formed from
flat plate section 31 so that the engaging members 33 protrude upward on
both sides of roughly the central portion of the slider member 30 with
respect to the front-rear direction. As a result of the formation of
additional engaging members 33, no load is applied to the end portions of
the flexible printed circuit 20 connected to the terminals 15 when the
slider member 30 is pulled out of the mating connector 80.
FIGS. 5A-5C show the supporting member 40 on the left side in FIG. 1. The
supporting member 40 on the right side in FIG. 1 has a structure which is
symmetrical with the structure of the supporting member 40 on the left
side shown in FIG. 1; accordingly, a description of this supporting member
is omitted.
In FIGS. 1 through 5C, the supporting member 40 is formed by stamping and
forming a metal plate. A supporting portion 42 extends forward from a base
portion 41 and has a rectangular opening 43 at a front end, which extends
in a direction A of insertion into the mating connector 80 (see FIG. 2).
The corresponding substantially L-shaped supporting section 34 on the
slider member 30 is inserted into rectangular opening 43. When the
supporting section 34 is inserted into the rectangular opening 43, the
projecting member 34a thereof passes between the upper and lower walls of
the rectangular opening 43 as shown in FIG. 2; as a result, the movement
of the slider member 30 in the vertical direction is regulated.
Accordingly, the flexible printed circuit 20 into which the slider member
30 is inserted has no variation in position, and the insertion of flexible
printed circuit 20 between the rows of contacts of the mating connector 80
is facilitated. Furthermore, when the supporting section 34 is inserted
into the rectangular opening 43, the release-preventing member 34b is
positioned to the outside of the supporting portion 42 as shown in FIG. 1;
as a result, the release of the slider member 30 from the supporting
member 40 during the insertion of the slider member 30 into the mating
connector 80 is reliably prevented. Furthermore, the supporting member 40
has an upper clamping member 44 formed by being bent inward (i. e., toward
the right in FIG. 1) from an upper end of the base portion 41, and a pair
of lower clamping members 45 formed by being bent inward from both sides
of a lower end of the base portion 41, so that the clamping members 44, 45
clamp the upper housing 18 and lower housing 19 together from above and
below.
An attachment plate member 13a, which is formed by being bent from the
upper frame 13, is inserted between the upper clamping member 44 and the
upper housing 18, and an attachment plate member 14a, which is formed by
being bent from the lower frame 14, is inserted between the lower clamping
members 45 and the lower housing 19. In this state, the supporting member
40 is attached to the housing 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the lower clamping
members 45 are positioned on the auxiliary circuit board 70, and a
threaded section 46 is formed in the upper clamping member 44. An
attachment screw 60, which passes through the auxiliary circuit board 70,
between the pair of lower clamping members 45, through the attachment
plate member 14a of the lower frame 14, through the lower housing 19,
upper housing 18 and attachment plate member 13a of the upper frame 13, is
screwed into threaded section 46.
Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, attachment brackets 16 are also
disposed on the side walls of the upper frame 13 and lower frame 14, and
an attachment screw (not shown), which passes through the auxiliary
circuit board 70, is screwed into a threaded section 17 of attachment
brackets 16. In this way, the electrical connector assembly 1 is fastened
to the auxiliary circuit board 70.
In FIGS. 5A-5C, a stop member 47, which is formed by being bent inward from
the base portion 41 engages a side wall of the housing 10 when the
supporting member 40 is attached to the housing 10.
In FIG. 7, the mating connector 80 is equipped with a housing 81, which has
a flexible printed circuit accommodating opening 82 that accommodates the
slider member 30 and the flexible printed circuit 20, and electrical
contact pairs of first contacts 83a and second contacts 83b that are
installed along the direction of length of the housing 81 electrically
engage the respective conductive paths of the flexible printed circuit.
Mating connector 80 is fastened to a surface of a main circuit board 90.
Furthermore, the direction A of insertion of the slider member 30 is
parallel to the main circuit board 90; however, it is not necessary that
this direction be parallel to the main circuit board 90.
When the slider member 30 of the electrical connector assembly 1 (shown in
FIG. 6) that is fastened to the surface of the auxiliary circuit board 70
is inserted between the rows of contacts 83a, 83b of the mating connector
80 together with the flexible printed circuit 20, the conductive paths
formed on the flexible printed circuit 20 electrically engage the
respective contacts 83a, 83b, and when the slider member 30 is pulled out
from between the rows of contacts 83a, 83b of the mating connector 80
together with the flexible printed circuit 20, the engagement between the
conductive paths and the contacts 83a, 83b is broken.
In the electrical connector assembly of the present invention, supporting
members are attached to the housing and regulate the movement of a slider
member in directions other than the direction of insertion into the mating
connector. Accordingly, the slider member is securely supported with
respect to the housing, so that variation in the position of the flexible
printed circuit when the slider member and flexible printed circuit are
inserted into the mating connector can be minimized, thereby facilitating
the insertion of the flexible printed circuit into the mating connector.
Furthermore, in the electrical connector assembly of the present invention,
rectangular openings, which extend in the direction of insertion into the
mating connector, are formed in the supporting members, and substantially
L-shaped supporting sections, which are inserted into the rectangular
openings, are formed on the slider member. Accordingly, the release of the
slider member from the supporting members when the slider member is
inserted into the mating connector can be reliably prevented.
Moreover, in the electrical connector assembly of the present invention,
not only can the supporting members clamp onto the housing by means of an
upper clamping member and a pair of lower clamping members, but attachment
screws which are passed through the auxiliary circuit board, along lower
clamping members and the housing, are screwed into threaded sections of
the upper clamping members, so that the electrical connector assembly can
be fastened to an auxiliary circuit board.
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